The Titans big men will again have their mettle in the middle tested this weekend when they take on a huge Parramatta Eels pack on Friday night at Cbus Super Stadium.
After going toe-to-toe with a Dragons pack full of representative stars last weekend, the task gets no easier this week against a Parramatta pack that has driven their surge into the NRL top eight.
Back-rower Sam Stone will be running out for his fifth game as a Titan and he knows the tough task ahead of the Titans trying to contain the Parramatta pack.
Stone to continue playing for pride
“They’re a really good team,” Stone said.
“Obviously there are no easy games in the NRL, and they’re going really well. We’ll need to muscle up this week.”
The hulking starting pack of Kane Evans, Junior Paulo, Shaun Lane, Manu Ma’u and Nathan Brown will be a tough assignment to start with, but with the likes of Daniel Alvaro, David Gower and Tepai Moeroa coming off the interchange bench, there will be no rest for the Titans pack.
“They say you can’t win a match at the start, but you can certainly lose it,” Stone said.
“We need to match them up front from the start, and that will put you in good stead for the rest of the match.
“It’ll be a tough task… we’ll need to focus on them a lot this week.”
Young forward Jai Whitbread is loving the extra minutes and responsibility as part of the Titans starting side, and knows it will be huge test against the Eels on Friday night as the Gold Coast try to bank some victories before the end of the season.
“It’ll be a battle right from the kick-off,” Whitbread said.
“They’ve got an experienced pack, but I see it as another challenge that I’m really looking forward to.”
The Titans are back at home this Friday night, taking on the Parramatta Eels at 6:00pm at Cbus Super Stadium. Click here to get your tickets!
